Sam Alvey to Make UFC Debut Against Tom Watson on Aug. 16 in Maine

Sam
Alvey will make his first official Octagon appearance this summer.
| Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Sam
Alvey, a welterweight competitor on season 16 of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” has signed with the UFC.

Alvey will make his official Octagon debut Aug. 16 against Tom Watson at
a UFC Fight Night event in Bangor, Maine. The bout is the third
announced for a card which also includes Tim Boetsch
versus Brad
Tavares at middleweight, and Shawn
Jordan versus Jack May at
heavyweight.

After his stint on “TUF 16,” Alvey returned to 185 pounds and
captured the Maximum Fighting Championship middleweight title in
2013. Currently riding a four-fight winning streak that features
three finishes, “Smilin’ Sam” will take a significant step up in
competition against a man who has had a fair amount of success in
his career, but has struggled since fighting under the Zuffa
banner.

Watson has suffered consecutive losses at the hands of Thales
Leites and Nick Catone.
With the short string many are given in the UFC’s current
landscape, a win against Alvey seems like a must. The former BAMMA
middleweight champion’s wins usually go one of two ways: of
Watson’s 16 victories, eight have come by knockout, while seven
have gone the distance.